WELCOME!

I hope you enjoy reading these strategies and tips for successful teaching. If you enjoy these, please encourage others to drop in and read them too because I feel that it is important for us to support each other and share ideas that work. Feel free to contact me at:

Thursday, June 15, 2017

“The health benefits of sleep affect more than just your
energy levels, it touches almost every aspect of your existence.”

I totally agree that sleep is important and essential. I
share this with my students and I encourage them to go to bed early and get 8
hours of sleep. I don’t want them sleepy in class and I want them to be able to
face all the stress in their lives with a strong mind and boy.

Yet, my problem is that I usually only get about 6 hours of
sleep every night. I would like more but I don’t know how to get it. I read
lots of articles that share how important it is and I wear a bracelet that
tracks my sleep. I get that I only get 6-7 hours of sleep every night.

My problem is that even though I track my sleep patterns, I
don’t know how to change them. I can go to bed early but that doesn’t mean I
will fall asleep. My brain is still going a million miles an hour until it is
ready to fall asleep. Sometimes I fall right to sleep but 6 hours later, I’m
wide awake. Once I wake up, I’m wide awake and rearing to go! I’ve tried to
make myself stay in bed but I either toss and turn or my body starts aching
from being forced to stay there. Either way, I’m not getting any sleep that
way.

I have tried drinking sleepytime tea before bedtime. I’ve
tried drinking a glass of wine before bedtime. I don’t exercise before bedtime.
I don’t have any caffeine after 6pm. I’ve tried to listen to soft music before
bedtime. Nothing helps me go to sleep earlier and even if I did, 6 hours later,
I am wide awake.

The other problem I have is that whatever time of night I go
to bed, if it is less than 6 hours, I will automatically wake up at 5am. I did
it for 30 years and can’t seem to break the habit. Even though I’ve tried to
force myself to stay in bed, it doesn’t help. I’ve gone to bed at 1am and still
wake up for the day at 5am. I may be miserable later in the day or take a
little nap, but I’m up.

I do not want to take any kind of medicine though. I’ve seen people on Ambien and it isn’t
pretty. I won’t subject my body to any kind of pill to help me sleep.

If anyone has a magic solution that will help me get 7 hours
of sleep, I would love to hear it. Please share.